CAN ASSURE YOU, HOWEVER, THAT MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES LITERALLY LIVE FROM PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK. THESE EMPLOYEES WILL FACE ALMOST INSURMOUNTABLE DIFFICULTIES IN COPING WITH A 20 PERCENT REDUCTION IN THEIR SALARIES. ONE FURTHER ASPECT OF OUR FUNDING CRISIS DESERVES MENTION. IN BOTH MY TERMS AS A COMMISSIONER, I HAVE ATTEMPTED TO COMMUNICATE MY CONCERN FOR THE WELFARE OF ALL COMMISSION EMPLOYEES. I HAVE GIVEN PARTICULAR ATTENTION TO THE NEEDS OF MINORITIES, WOMEN, AND OTHER GROUPS WHICH HAVE TRADITIONALLY BEEN DISADVANTAGED AT THE COMMISSION AND IN OUR SOCIETY AT LARGE. THE FURLOUGHS WHICH WILL BE NECESSARY ABSENT SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING WILL DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT THESE GROUPS, WHICH ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE LOWER PAY SCALES AT THE COMMISSION. IT IS MY SINCERE HOPE THAT THIS SUBCOMMITTEE WILL BE SENSITIVE TO THIS CONSIDERATION IN ITS DELIBERATIONS. IN CONCLUSION, I WANT TO ASSURE THE SUBCOMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT I AND MY FELLOW COMMISSIONERS ARE COMMITTED TO CARRYING OUT OUR RESPONSIBILITIES TO THE BEST OF OUR ABILITIES WITHIN THE SPENDING LIMITATIONS SET BY THE CONGRESS. OUR UNANIMOUS DECISION TO SEEK SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING WAS DICTATED BY OUR SINCERE BELIEF THAT PERFORMANCE OF THESE RESPONSIBILITIES WILL BE SERIOUSLY AND ADVERSELY AFFECTED UNDER CURRENT SPENDING CONSTRAINTS. OUR DECISION TO PLAN A PROGRAM OF FURLOUGHS RATHER THAN LARGE-SCALE REDUCTIONS IN PERSONNEL TO MEET ANY FUNDING SHORTFALL WAS ALSO INTENDED TO MINIMIZE ORGANIZATIONAL DISRUPTION AS WELL AS HUMAN DISTRESS. WE WILL TAKE ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY TO STAY WITHIN OUR BUDGETARY ALLOCATIONS. THE REQUESTED SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING, HOWEVER, WILL ENABLE THE COMMISSION TO MAKE AN ORDERLY TRANSITION TO FISCAL YEAR 1986. THANK YOU FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF TESTIFYING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE. STATEMENT OF ANDREW J. STRENIO, JR. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of testifying before you. I appreciate this opportunity to reiterate my strong support for both a supplemental appropriation for fiscal year 1985 and for the proposed budget for fiscal year 1986. At the outset, I wish to emphasize my commitment to operating the Commission as effectively and economically as possible. I believe that the level of funding we are requesting is consistent with achieving these goals of economy and effectiveness. Supplemental funds for fiscal year 1985 are essential if the Commission is to continue performing its statutory duties within the time limits established by Congress. In addition, a supplemental appropriation would facilitate an efficient transition to the lower staffing and funding levels proposed in the fiscal year 1986 budget. The Commission has taken strong measures to reduce spending during the current fiscal year. We have adopted an action plan that has severely curtailed all non-personnel spending. Under this plan, the Commission will save an estimated $2.7 million by the end of fiscal year 1985. In addition, the Commission will soon begin a one-day-per-week furlough in order to achieve the balance of savings needed to comply with the existing fiscal year 1985 budget limits in the event that a supplemental appropriation is not approved. Such a furlough would be particularly painful because of its adverse impact on the productivity of the " agency and on the morale of individual employees. talented employees would be forced to leave by such Many circumstances. Of course, the Commission would not be facing a furlough situation now had we ordered massive RIFs earlier this year. Considering the time necessary to implement a RIF, as well as the separation costs involved, however, we would have had to RIF roughly 400 employees in order to reach the required average for the year. This would have left us with a staff level well below that specified in the Continuing Resolution. Rather than taking this drastic action, we decided instead to seek Congressional assistance. Finally, it is worth noting that the Commission is continuing its determined effort to be responsive to Congressional concerns. For example, since last year's hearing before this Subcommittee, the agency has substantially increased the number of open conferences and oral hearings, has clarified its enforcement priorities, and has focused on a number of substantive issues of interest to this Subcommittee. The Commission will remain sensitive to issues raised in Congressional hearings and will respond appropriately. For all these reasons, I respectfully urge you to recommend the adoption of a supplemental appropriation for fiscal year 1985 and the proposed budget for fiscal year 1986. I would be happy to answer any questions that the members of the Subcommittee might have. PERSONAL: EXPERIENCE: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH J. J. SIMMONS, III Married five children; date of birth - March 26, 1925 1984-Present: Commissioner U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423 1983-1984: Under Secretary U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240 1982-1983: Commissioner U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission, Washington, DC 20423 1970-1982: Vice President, Government Relations Amerada Hess Corporation, New York, NY 10036 1969-1970: Administrator, Oil Import Administration U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240 1968-1969: Deputy Administrator, Oil Import Administration U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240 1966-1968: Assistant Director, Office of Oil and Gas U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC 20240 1962-1966: Domestic Petroleum Production Specialist, Office of Oil and Gas 1961-1962: Regional Oil and Gas Mobilization Specialist U.S. Department of the Interior, Battle Creek, MI 49016 Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, Geologist SPECIAL ITEMS OF RECOGNITION: Publications: - "A Petrographic Study of Sediments from Excavations in St. Louis", St. Louis University Press, 1949 - "Plain Facts About Oil", U.S. Department of the Interior, Government Printing Office, 1963 "Vulnerability of Natural Gas Utility Systems to Nuclear Attack", Special Honors: Special Act of Service-U.S. Department of the Interior, 1963 Outstanding Performance Award-U.S. Department of the Interior, 1968 - Alumni Merit Award-St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri, 1968 - Distinguished Service Award-U.S. Department of the Interior, 1968 Trustee, Madonna College, Livonia, Michigan, 1969-1976 - Member-DOE Fuel Oil Marketing Advisory Committee, 1978-1981 - Commissioner-President's Commission on Executive Exchange. 1970-1981 - Commissioner-Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Commission, 1983-present - Member of the Board-Statue of Liberty Ellis Island Foundation, 1984-present Member-National Academy of Science Board of Mineral and Energy Resources. 1984-present - Member-Department of the Interior Outer Continental Shelf Advisory Board, 1984-present Professional Associations: Registered Professional Engineer - State of Oklahoma - Society of Petroleum Engineers of the AIME CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTIVE Senator ANDREWS. Mr. Chairman, you pointed out that somehow or other we were 12 days late approving the continuing resolution. Let me review with you that we marked this bill up in June, it went to the public in July. Everyone knew well in advance of the fiscal year what the figures were. Actually we left the personnel numbers at a higher figure to give you the flexibility within the various functions of your Commission. That is usually what we do. The operative item, as always in an appropriations bill, Mr. Chairman, members of the Commission, is the dollar level. As we look at it, you would have had to RIF even under the President's original request. So it doesn't come as much of a surprise, shouldn't come as a surprise to you or anyone else that there was a RIF in order. The conference report cut ICC funding by 11.1 percent and staff by 7.4 percent. Why have you been unable to meet these two congressional directives? Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, I would welcome the opportunity once and for all to clear up the record on this point because this is not a self-induced crisis. I want to assure you, too, that it is not the result of any mismanagement either on my part or any of the staff's part or any of my colleagues on the Commission. And I think the only way we can set the record straight on this is to go back and review the history that is involved. I would like to do that, if I might. Senator ANDREWS. Well, do that in pointing out what specific steps the Commission took to comply with this 11.1 percent cut, and when these steps were taken. After all, we have a President who is calling on the Congress to cut spending. He is calling on those of us in the Appropriations Committee day after day and has talked with our chairman, Chairman Hatfield, on a number of occasions, to cut spending because we are running a deficit in the neighborhood of $180 billion. Senator Chiles and I are both also on the Budget Committee and we continually see requests from the President to cut virtually every program, including human nutrition programs, and a number of other programs that are extremely important to the individuals in this country who are not, shall we say, among the more favored members of the society. So we are extremely interested in why a commission can't make an 11.1-percent cut when you are all appointed by the same President that is asking for these cuts. So if you could review how you tried to do it and why you couldn't reach it, we would be most interested. AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT Mr. TAYLOR. In line with the last remarks you made, I think there is a chart up there on the table. If there isn't, there should be, because I think this demonstrates what the ICC has done going back to 1976. |